My Life Claret Dress

This is the second outfit from Darski's free Harriet pattern found here. This may in fact be the last of the donation outfits for 2021 as I've begun work on my Christmas gifts and I want to make a box of Barbie clothes for a family member which will probably be a post Christmas gift for her granddaughters. When those projects are done it will be time to start the 2022 doll donation work.

This used up the end of a skein that's been in a misc yarn pile for a bit now. It was nice to see it gone. I did end up using an old skein of Red Heart sport to trim the bottom as I didn't have quite enough to finish the dress. The colors were a match and the change in weight was not relevent in the trim.

I used an I hook for the dress to get the fit right.

My Life Howdy Neighbor Madison Dress

I mentioned last week that I set out to make the Madison dress from the free Howdy Neighbor pattern set found here.

I didn't give up when the first one fit the 15 Inch Rag Doll I just had to find different yarn that would work better.

For this project I targeted some Michael's Craft Smart yarn that I bought shortly after A.C. Moore closed and it hasn't been my favorite of the craft stores house brands. So I am determined I am going to finish off what I bought and then not have to look at it in my stash any longer. I used Red Heart Super Saver Yarn, White for the trim.

If you need a quick dress project this one works up fairly quickly.

Notes:

I followed the directions for hook size and dress construction except I did finish the back with green yarn prior to adding the trim. As I mentioned in the Rag Doll post I found this made the back neater and made it easier adding the buttons and button holes.

My Life Raincoat

I have a binder that I've been filling with outfits from Adorable Dolls for the 18-inch dolls. Her patterns are quite affordable, easy to follow, use available yarns or yarns easy to substitute from my stash and I generally can follow them to completion.

The one challenge I do find with her patterns sometimes is the formating. She has interesting ways of creating the shaping in her patterns so the stitch counts can be long in each row but I sometimes end up making notes as they can be challenging to follow as printed. The directions are clear and once I've written them out I never have trouble following them but formating them a little more clearly would make this situation ideal.

This pattern was worked from my Joann's Big Twist Stash. While a slightly lighter worsted I love the color selection and especially when on sale the price is very attractive, especially for my donation projects where spending less means I can do more.

You can purchase the pattern here.

My Life Howdy Neighbor Shorts, Shirt and Shoes

After making the Chef's outfit I decided it would be a great idea to add another short outfit to the donation using the same free pattern from the Howdy Neighbor set found here.

It was a great chance to use up the green Herrschners worsted yarn and the Red Heart Super Saver Yarn, Petal Pink left over from making the last doll carrier. Sometimes it feels like I've barely made a dent in either goal but I'm still working on it. The shoe pattern is from Sweet Silver Creations School Girl Uniform available for purchase here.

The shirt was made following the pattern using the suggested hook size. I make my pants top down but this time did not chain for the crotch but joined to split for the legs after finishing the top section. I actually liked the fit for this better. I did a sc chain 3 trim for the legs. I used a g hook with the lighter Herrchners yarn and the shoes fit fine.

My Life Chef

I've been revisiting patterns I haven't made in a few years. This chef outfit is from Darski's free Howdy Neighbor pattern found here. The shoes are part of Sweet Silver Creations School Uniform pattern and can be purchased here.

With the exception of the hat this outfit was made with Red Heart Super Saver Yarn, White and Shocking Pink. The hat was made with Bernat Big Ball Baby Yarn -White.

Notes:

The shorts are not from the pattern I make most of my pants/shorts top down and split for the crotch. This time I didn't add chains for the crotch and I like this look a bit better. I also added sc chain 3 for the legs as a trim for the shorts.

I followed the hook suggestions for the various pieces of the pattern with the exception of the shorts which I made on my own and the fit was correct.

I used a g hook for the shoes this time and didn't need to add an extra row or add a reduction row.

My Life Sailor Dress

While I've used the shoe pattern from this outfit for many years I haven't made the sailor outfit for some time. This year I've been revisiting neglected patterns in my doll binders and it seemed a good time to add the sailor dress to the donation. Sadly for those of you looking to purchase the pattern it is no longer listed in Sweet Silver Crochet's Etsy store. Should the pattern show up again I will try to add a new link for the pattern.

When I made this outfit previously I used Caron One Pound Yarn, White for the entire white section of the outfit. This time I only used that for the hat and used Bernat Super Value Yarn, Navy for the trim and the shoes as it was the only worsted Navy I had in my stash. I used an I hook for both the hat and the shoes.

For the dress I started with the heavier Caron but it wasn't working and I frogged it and restarted with Bernat Big Ball Baby Yarn White using no longer available Red Heart Sport Navy yarn and Red Heart Comfort Sport in Red for trim and detail work.

I started with an I hook found myself switching to an H hook and then finished after the 3rd row with the g hook. I did add some additional rows to the top as I found the dress was hard to get on and off if I joined it to start the skirt as suggested. It is a much easier outfit to dress when the torso is a little longer.

Update November 3, 2021

Pattern has been relisted for purchase here.

My Life Cobblestones Sweater Dress

I picked this pattern up on e-pattern central a while back and it got lost in my 18 inch doll binder. I was looking for something different to try this year and decided this was the year to attempt this pattern. While no longer available where I purchased the pattern does still look to be available at Ravelry here for purchase.

I substituted Knit Picks Palette for the no longer available suggested yarns. This was a great project to attack my stash of this yarn. While I will likely need more for doll projects at some point my current stash has out lived its tenancy and needs to be used.

Notes: The e hook was correct for guage. Not all rows have a stitch count and I made the mistake of conforming to the previous rows stitch count in certain places where I would let play out the next time I made this. I also didn't get quite the texture I was going for on the dress section but I did figure it out for the arms. If I make this again I'll have a better idea on how to get the desired effect.

Regarding the arms they are a little long and I would shorten to 14 rows before adding the ridge rows.

The pants are based loosely based on Maggie's Crochet's pants pattern found in her Abby, Allie, and Annie pattern you can purchase here. I've been making them so long now that I've adapted them and use them for all the dolls but I suggest them as an easy starting place if you are looking for a pattern that works waist down rather than one that has you make both legs and then join them. I just prefer this method and don't see it used as often.

The shoes are another standard pattern but I've been making so many baby doll clothes I'd forgotten which pattern set they came from and had to look it up so I could make shoes for this set. The shoes are part of Sweet Silver Creation's Sailor Doll pattern available for purchase here.

My Life Scrubs

This is another Adoring Dolls crochet pattern. You can purchase the scrubs or the scrubs with medical coat set. Mine has the medical coat and you can purchase it here.

I'm working on some additional ocean creatures for the July birthday, but my hope is my next doll project will be the medical coat.

Notes:

I used an H hook for the mask and I'd continue with that change. I used a D hook for the straps and I would continue with this as the mask fit behind the ears. While I don't know how long it will stay on during play I do believe the smaller chains helped it to fit on the rather small ears.

For the shoes I changed to an I Hook.

The scrub hat was made with an I hook I'd experiment with an H.

The pants were made with an H hook and this was a good choice.

I used an I for the top, I'd try an H next time. Both sleeves were done in H a g might work.

The pocket was made with a g hook.

My Life Madison Maxi Dress

I haven't made anything to donate for the My Life Dolls since March so it seemed like a good idea to get back to it again. I haven't stopped making Barbie items but I do need to continue on with the other dolls as well. You can purchase this pattern from Adoring Doll clothes here.

One of the advantages of working with the same designers clothes on a frequent basis is you have a better feel for guage when you stick with the same dolls. For this project it meant I knew I was going to go up in hook sizes to make the clothes fit before I started as I have experience making clothes with this designer's patterns. I used an H hook for the skirt and an I hook for the Bodice. I used an I hook for the headband and shoes. I went with a C hook for the first 3 flowers and realized in making the last headband flower I should have moved up to an e. I mention that for future projects.

If you look at the skirt you will notice the V's going sideways instead of up and down in the traditional V stitch. I'd not done this before and I won't give away the designer's secret but I enjoyed learning a new method for creating a skirt for a dress that I'd not used before.

This is a fairly quick dress to make. The shoes fit and I didn't find them falling off which is sometimes a complaint about crocheted shoes.

My Life Heart Shirt and Rib Effect Skirt

Sometimes projects just don't come together like you think they will. I made this skirt a few years back at the end of a donation cycle and not having time to make a top for it put it aside thinking I'd make s top for it for the next year's donation. It got folded in with an unfinished project and it never made it to the donation, until now. I came across it while looking for something else just after I'd frogged the thread skirt I was making to go with this heart shirt. The two seemed a good fit so here we are with another outfit made.

You can find the free pattern for the Ribbed effect Skirt here. The Heart Sweater is part of a Tee Shirt and Skirt pattern you can purchase here. If you are wondering why I was making a separate skirt when the pattern comes with one I actually started with a thread skirt pattern and was looking for a top to use with it. I wasn't happy with the skirt and opted to frog it and decide if I want to try it again at a later date. That left me with a finished top in need of a skirt. Thankfully, problem solved.

Notes:

Pattern calls for a G hook and I used an H hook I'd consider an I next year. It just felt snug and it wouldn't come close to fitting the Our Generation doll when I tried it on and I started this project thinking this would be the first item I made for the Our Generation doll this year. One of the benefits of different dolls is that it always seems to fit one. I'll have to work on something different for the Our Generation doll.

My Life Fruity Stripes Dress

I'm always looking for new patterns to try for the 18 inch dolls. You can find this free pattern here.

This pattern required a little adaptation as I really try to make my donation clothes as child friendly as possible. The pattern calls for joining the dress after round 4 and I found this made the dress next to impossible to get on and off easily. There just wasn't the room to get the arms in the arm holes. To fix this I continued to crochet in rows using the mirrow stitch suggested for round 3 until I was closer to the waist line and then I joined and continued in rows. This makes the dress easier to put on and take off. Others may not consider this to be a challenge but I figure if I have trouble getting the clothing on and off I don't want a child to become frustrated with the effort.

The top of the dress starts in a unique way and it makes for an interesting top patterns. I ended up adding finishing stitches for the back as I left more of it open. I also did sc stitches around the sleeves to finish them off as well.

These are the shoes I make most often for the 18" dolls and it comes from a Sweet Silver Creations pattern Sailor Dress you can purchase here. Just a note to myself the H hook is the correct hook for these shoes. The dress pattern called for an I hook and for some reason I forgot to change hooks when I made the shoes. They are a slight bit larger than needed.

The pattern doesn't have a catchy title so I went with the Red Heart Stripy yarn color. I do enjoy working with bright colors on grey days. It cheers me up a bit.

My Life Doll Purple Outfit

This pattern was originally published as Purple Crochet Outfit but when I went to add a link where you could buy the pattern the title has changed. You can buy the pattern here. I've decided to keep the title as I've always been a huge purple fan.

I've had to create a separate binder for my collection of Adoring doll clothes as my pattern stash of her 18" doll clothes from her early days as a free pattern designer to her current days as pattern seller has grown considerably. I like her patterns as they cover different styles and they are affordable for me to continue building out my design collection. While she does offer her blog followers free monthly patterns I have recieved nothing free for my comments about her patterns. I am grateful when I can find supplies for my doll donation project that are affordable.

Notes for this pattern:

As with most of her designs I needed an I hook to make the pattern fit. When I make this pattern again I would not join the top where the directions suggest. I would continue in rows and add an additional button. Joining it as suggested makes the top more challenging to take on and off. I added rows to make the skirt a little longer.

Without giving away any design secrets I really like the textures created in the skirt and the jacket. I also really liked the jacket flaps. I didn't notice them when I looked at the picture but they are really cute when made. The picture from the Etsy pattern substitutes light blue for turquoise. I really prefer the contrast of the purple and the turquoise.